I’m wondering if all of the symptoms I have with my congestion (so bad, at this point, I have to breathe through my mouth and chew with my mouth open, otherwise, I can’t breathe) is really a cold. But I have no discernable headache, nor do I have chills, so I don’t think it’s a cold. I just can’t breathe. It’s very unattractive. Not to mention heinously annoying.

I’m through the worst of my Schedule from Hell^TM at [Retail Job]. And dear God, did I want to murder all of the elderly who demand that I get their discount. Let’s face it folks: when you are spending $3 of your meager Social Security check for whatever it is you found on the clearance rack and you’re asking me every ten seconds whether I got your Senior Citizen Discount, perhaps you need to re-prioritize the finances.

Tomorrow is a 4.5 hour shift, and then I have two whole days to myself. Next week is 25 hours, so I actually have time to work at the framing shop. If my boss will have me, even.

Oh, and here’s how I got ripped off:

I’m buddies with Steve in security. The other day, he came up to the jewelry counter (where I work), and asked if I remembered a transaction in which a “balding man with glasses” returned a pair of diamond earrings, and some other peice of jewelry. Honestly, I didn’t, my brain is fried and the incident occurred a week ago. His returns should have totaled about $250-some dollars, but corporate mailed him a check for $750 dollars — the retail price of the jewelry.

The only thing that I can think of that happened is that someone else used my ID and rang him out. It is nearly impossible to give a corporate refund without my knowledge of it. As in: had I sent his return to corporate, I would have remembered making that return. It takes a lot of involved steps to make a return, and it’s difficult to so a corporate one. So, long story short, Steve is “looking into it” for me, and management hasn’t said anything to me about it.

I’m looking forward to the weekend and my anniversary, but not the snow. I’m worried that it will get ruined because of snow. I worry too much.

I’m sorry that the blogging has been lackluster. I still feel like hot death, and this shitty work schedule makes it difficult for me to get adequate sleep or nutrition.

But, I have a light load on Thursday, and I’ll give you a post of substance on the last day of NaBloPoMo ’06.

I don’t feel well, and some guy ripped me off at work. I’m in the middle of a very wierd schedule. I hope I make it through. I’m sure I’ll make it through, I just hope that it’s not at the detriment of my anniversary weekend.

So, as for Christmas shopping, I’ve actually bought one (for my brother), I’ve put one on hold at [Retail Job] for The Boy, I know what I’m getting both my dad and mom. I’m paying for The Boy’s with [Retail Job]’s credit card, because I get an extra discount for opening one and making a purchase. I bought the brother’s using a checkcard. Since I have to buy both Mom and Dad’s on the internet, I’m going to use my credit card, since I have the income, and it’s safer than using the checkcard.

Speaking of which, I should probably open this month’s credit card statement. Which, honestly, isn’t me hiding from my credit responsibilities. It’s me not having enough hours in the day to open my mail when I come home from work.

I also purchased Christmas cards to send out this year, which makes me feel less poorly about being a total Scrooge with my money this Christmas. Now, it’s just a matter of making the Christmas cards list, writing them up, and sending them out.

…Oh, and finishing my applications to graduate school.

Boss at [Framing Job] called today before I went on lunch, wanting to know if I could work all day for her Wednesday. I spent about 1 hour and 40 minutes trying to jiggy my schedule so that I could do it, and work at [Retail Job]. As it turns out, I would have to work one 18-hour day, and with two part-time jobs (one of which giving me 36 hours in four days, Jesus Christ), so it just wasn’t going to happen.

The reason that I feel guilty in this whole arrangement is that I’m trying to be all things to all people, and it just isn’t going to work out. My mother says that it’s a good work ethic and shows chracter, but it’s making me miserable.

So, I told my boss, it came out that I had this second job, that I told this second job that I needed my hours cut back (which is do-able). But [Framing Job] boss is “really disappointed” and “can’t rely on me”.